Tyrant's Reign
by DragonScouter
Summary: Ultra Magnus is dying and tasks Pandimala, neutral ambassador for the Autobots, to make sure that peace continues when he is gone. But, to do this, Pandimala will have to face Megatron, the one bot she truly fears. Can she overcome her fears to keep the last wish of Ultra Magnus? And can she do this while Sentinel takes control of Cybertron? Rated T cause I'm paranoid.
1. The End is Only the Beginning

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs. Vox belongs to a friend of mine on here.**

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**Authoress: Oh, this looks like a fun story. *grabs energon goodies***

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Ch. 1: The End is Only the Beginning

I stared in front of me as the leader of the Autobots laid on the med berth, spark monitors slowing slightly each nano-click that passed. Through all of the stellar cycles of war waging on and off with the Decepticons, I had always imagined him losing in spark in a field of glory, rising triumphantly to protect the innocent, the weak. But, that could no longer be. Just a few short solar cycles ago, the Decepticons had signed a peace treaty with the Autobots. Both leaders had grown tired of war and had wanted to make peace with each other. So, with the acceptance of the majority of the council, Ultra Magnus and the Autobots had given Megatron the cities of Kaon and Vos as Decepticon states, to be ruled as they chose.

There were many an Autobot who felt like this idea was wrong and that, by giving the Decepticons ground, we were admitting defeat. Small groups would protest but they did not understand that this war had gone on long enough, that both Autobots and Decepticon had suffered enough casualties for this to go on any longer. But, they didn't care. We left them alone though, thinking that they had the right to say what they wished and that no harm would come if we let them speak their peace.

We were wrong.

During the late cycles of the previous solar cycle, hired assassins had broke into Fortress Maximus and attacked Ultra Magnus as he was about to go to recharge for the night. The Elite Guard and I raced to reach him and we were able to take down the assassins. Unfortunately, we were not able to discover who had hired them. Also, we were too late to guard Ultra Magnus and he was critically injured by the assassins. At first, there was hope that he might be saved, as he was when he was attacked by Shockwave with the Magnus hammer. But, we had not counted on the assassins trying again. Instead of a direct attack, the assassin had fed poison directly into his life lines. There was no cure and there was nothing we could do.

Now, I stood there with Alpha Trion on my left. Also in the room was Sentinel Prime, Botanica, Rodimus Prime, and Vox, who had been my friend since we were sparklings. I was very grateful that Botanica was in there with me so I would not be the only femme present.

When Ultra Magnus let out a few coughs, we all drew closer to him, just in case he was about to speak. Of course, he was, "I...I know my time is at an end. But, before I go, I know there are subjects which must be taken care of." All of us were hanging on each and every word he said, knowing that these were most likely his last.

Raising his optics to glance at the ceiling, Ultra Magnus let out a stuttered out-vent before saying, "From all that I have witnessed and heard, I have decided on the most logical choice for my heir. My successor shall be...Optimus Prime."

I took a quick glance around the room to see the different reactions of those around me. Alpha Trion and Botanica looked like they had known for a while for little shock was on their faceplates. The looks on the faceplates of Rodimus and Vox were shock, but happy shock. I had no doubt in my processor that my faceplate looked the same.

But, for the briefest nano-click, the look that flashed onto the faceplate of Sentinel Prime was that of anger and that of being slighted. Of course, it was no secret that Sentinel had wishes to be the next Magnus and, from what I knew, that might have happened, if not for how Sentinel had ruled as Magnus when he had the chance. I had been away visiting the Jungle Planet to strengthen the Autobot alliance with them when I heard the news that Ultra Magnus had been attacked. Thankfully, Scourge had been most understanding and granted me early leave to check on the condition of Cybertron. It took longer than I had hoped to arrive, due to the interference of pirates and the sort, and when I had finally arrived on Cybertron, I was fragging mad. Fear was all around and everybot now feared their neighbor. In short, Sentinel 'Magnus' had turned Cybertron into a military dictatorship. I felt even more strongly toward that notion when Vox had said that Sentinel had disobeyed a direct order from the council and had fired on Omega Supreme.

Thankfully, Ultra Magnus had almost fully recovered from his encounter with Shockwave at the time when Optimus Prime had returned to Cybertron with Megatron and his top troops. Of course, they had escaped but Ultra Magnus had taken command back from Sentinel. I can honestly say that I was not the only one that took a sigh of relief.

Speaking of the now known heir to the Autobots, I had met him and his team after they had brought Megatron to Cybertron. The medic and his femme-friend had been pleasant enough as well as the small yellow scout and his friend Bulkhead. I had heard of Bulkhead because he was a genius at space bridge technology. Then, there was Jazz, a member of the Elite Guard. He had been quite nice and I had heard he had left Sentinel's team to join up with Optimus'. In my opinion, that was a good choice.

Next, was the techno-organic called Sari. Her fellow team members had been shocked and nervous at first that I figured out she was a techno-organic. I guess they had been trying to pass Sari off as a Mini-Con so other bots wouldn't panic and the scout had asked me how I had known that. In response, I told them that I was an ambassador to many planets for the Autobots and that many of those planets had organic and techno-organic life on them.

Finally, there had been Optimus Prime himself. I knew what the records said about his past but I didn't make a judgment about him until I met him, and I was glad that I did. He was quite honorable and cared deeply for his team. I had no doubt in my processor that he would sacrifice his spark in less than a spark-beat for his friends.

Another cough coming from the dying Autobot leader had our small group glancing at him and, to my surprise, Ultra Magnus said, "I wish to be alone..." We all agreed so we turned and started to walk out. But, he was not done. "alone...with Pandimala."

That shocked me. He wanted to spend what were most likely his last moments with _me_? But, I did not argue and waited for everyone else to leave the room and the door to close and seal before I walked back next to Ultra Magnus' berth. "Yes, sir?" I asked slowly. While I was a neutral, Ultra Magnus was a dear friend of mine and I had always called him sir due to my respect toward him. Also, since I was a friend, it was very hard to see him like this.

He turned his gaze to me before saying, "I have trusted you for many stellar cycles my friend and, while I lay on my offlining berth, I ask a favor of you."

I offlined my optics for a nano-click, the pain that he was leaving still inside, before I looked at him and said, "Whatever you need, Ultra Magnus, I will make sure I use everything in my power to help accomplish it."

The dying leader nodded toward me before saying, "I must ask you to watch over Cybertron and keep the peace between the Autobots and Decepticons. There will be some, after my offlining, who will try to remove the peace that we have finally achieved. I ask you to protect the peace and make sure that equality and freedom are supreme and that no bot take it under themselves to bring in their greed. Finally, I ask that you make sure that_" _Ultra Magnus let out a few more coughs before saying, "that _Optimus_ take up the mantle of Magnus. While Sentinel is a loyal Autobot, he does not have compassion for his enemies and he cannot see the good that resides in each and every one of us. Can you help me?"

This was a lot to accept. I was a neutral after all. "I am not sure that anybot will listen to me. Not many liked that I was a neutral and that you appointed me as your ambassador. I'm not sure that I am strong enough for what you ask."

His servo gripping mine in encouragement had me staring directly into Ultra Magnus' optics and I saw a determination in it that I had not seen earlier. "Pandimala, you are one of the strongest bots I know. You can bear this load. I need you to if Cybertron will survive in peace." He then coughed and I noticed that his spark monitor was beeping ever so slowly now. "Please 'Mala?"

While it was going to be hard, I knew what I had to do. "Of course Ultra. I accept."

A weak, but very grateful, smile spread across his faceplate before he said, "Thank you." Then, raising a servo and stretching his right arm across his chest plate like a salute, he said, "Until all are one...Pandimala."

Making the same gesture, I bowed my helm. "Until all are one...Ultra Magnus."

Then, with a heavy spark, I watched as the light gently faded from the Autobot leader's optics until it was completely out. Then, almost in slow motion, his chassis turned to ashen gray. One did not need the spark monitor flat lining to know that the leader of the Autobots was now at peace in the Allspark. I bowed my helm as the others, except for Sentinel, came in, the flat lining monitor granting them access.

Vox, Alpha Trion, Rodimus Prime, and Botanica walked next to me before I felt a servo on my shoulder. "What did he want Pandimala?" Botanica asked me softly.

Turning to them, I said, "He just wanted to say goodbye." I then turned to Rodimus. If I was going to fulfill Ultra Magnus' wishes, then I had to get Optimus. "Rodimus, I need you and your crew to head to Earth and retrieve Optimus and his team. We need Optimus back here as soon as possible."

Rodimus nodded at that. I had hitched a ride with his crew to a number of the planets I visited and had grown a friendship with the Prime. I knew he was level helmed the same way that I hoped he knew that I was. "I'll get right on it." He then ran out of the room.

I then turned to Alpha Trion and Botanica. "I need you two to help me keep Sentinel at bay long enough for Optimus to arrive. He is not happy at being refused the Magnus position and I fear he may try something to prevent anybot else from obtaining it."

They both nodded but Alpha Trion stepped forward. "What about you and Vox?"

Motioning to the dark blue and dark gold sports car mech, I said, "Vox and I will be traveling to Kaon to personally deliver the news to Megatron about Ultra Magnus' offlining. It is best to do this in person to show respect and, since Vox and I are neutral, we won't be as challenged by the Decepticons."

Though, I had to admit, I was very nervous about going to Kaon and approaching the leader of the Decepticons. While I knew he was much more calm then he had been during the Autobot-Decepticon war, I couldn't stop all of the stories I had heard about him over the years fill my helm. Suddenly, I was a little less excited about this plan and, inside, I was wondering if there was any way I could back out of this. But, as soon as that thought entered my helm, I eradicated it and now I was more determined than before. Ultra Magnus was counting on me to make sure that the peace held and that meant sucking up my fear and going to Kaon to speak with Megatron personally. Thankfully, I would not be going alone.

Alpha Trion nodded and said, "That is a smart move. It will show Megatron that we still wish for this peace to last between us." He then made a shooing motion before saying, "Now go. The next train to Kaon leaves in ten clicks, and it will take you eight to get to the station."

Nodding, I motioned for Vox to follow me and the two of us quickly made our way down to the station. I knew that time was of the essence and the sooner we told Megatron, the better. We didn't need Megatron hearing this from a second rate source. If he did, then the situation we were in would only be that much worse. If he heard something that he didn't like, or something that someone else had tweaked, then it could cause the peace that Ultra had worked so hard for to come toppling down and, most likely, it would smother us on the way.

"You know, 'Mala, you can just say what's on your processor out loud. I can almost hear your thoughts from here." Vox stated as we finally arrived at the transit station.

Shaking my helm, I waited until we boarded the transit train to answer him. "I'm nervous about this Vox. Neutrals weren't exactly popular with either side during the war and I am afraid at how Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons, is going to treat us. Plus, I'm worried that we won't be the first ones to get to Megatron to tell the leader the news. If someone who doesn't know all of the facts gets to him first, then we will have a lot of explaining to do."

He let out a chuckle as we moved at astonishing speeds across of Cybertron. "And I know you Pandimala. You'd rather hit something than do it politically."

"Exactly." I affirmed with a nod, before saying, "Of course, that's why I brought you along Vox."

He rolled his optics at me before saying, "Yeah, because I am only a fraction better than you at politics." He then paused and a thoughtful look came on his faceplate before he said, "Actually, that would make me pretty fragging good at politics compared to you."

"Shut up." I relented with a smile. He was a lot better than me at politics though. It was fair enough to say that.

And that was when the transit finally stopped.

Stepping off of the transit, I felt a shiver travel through my systems as we traveled the Decepticon city. The air had a different presence in the city, a heavy presence. It almost made me want to turn around and head straight back to Iacon. But, I had made a promise and I always kept a promise...no matter how scary it was.

Once Vox and I arrived at Darkmount, Megatron's building of operations and also where his own quarters lay, I walked through the front door and up the stairs until we reached the top floor, where the meeting room was and Megatron spent most of his time reconstructing Vos and Kaon and making sure everything was running smoothly in his domain. When I caught sight of the door, I sighed when I saw that Motormaster, a ground based Decepticon, was guarding it. Great. From the looks of it, the tall, but surprisingly thin, Decepticon with rather large pedes didn't look like he was in the best of moods. Of course, thin did not mean weak. He just had a thinner waist and chestplate than most Decepticons that I had run into. But, I had heard of his strength and, while I did not want to test that, I did not mind if I had to.

"Megatron was not expecting any dignitaries from Iacon. Who are you?" Motormaster questioned us as we walked up. I could see that he was already on the defensive. That was also something else that had changed. It had taken anyone who met a Decepticon sometime to notice, but Megatron had stopped having his follower's call him 'Lord' Megatron and now he was simply addressed as Megatron, though that did not belittle the respect he held from his troops.

While, most of the time, I would try and smooth talk my way in to avoid unnecessary trouble, I knew that time was of the essence. "I must meet with Megatron immediately. It is an emergency!" I did not stop walking toward him as I said this.

He immediately responded by blocking the door and saying, "We were not informed of any emergency from Ultra Magnus and, until we receive a message stating that there is one, no emergency will make me move _femme._"

I growled loudly at that and was about to go and punch this Decepticon's lights out when I felt a servo on my arm and I turned to see Vox giving me a look that said to _not_ get into a fight. Begrudgingly, the logical side of my processor agreed with him...in this case, and so, instead, I turned and slammed my fist so it was only a paper's width away from slamming into his helm before saying, "Listen here, _mech_, you had best open that door and tell Megatron that Pandimala, the Autobot ambassador, is here with fellow neutral Vox with urgent news from Iacon. You have three nano-clicks to do this and if you don't, I am going to use you to break down the door to tell him." I then narrowed my optics into a glare at him. This was my form of politics...which many didn't see as politics. But, it usually worked well for me.

And it worked again this time as, when I moved my servo from the area next to his helm, Motormaster quickly turned and opened the door before moving out of my way and announcing to those inside, "Presenting Pandimala, the Autobot Ambassador, and her fellow neutral friend Vox with urgent news from Iacon." When the two of us walked into the room, I saw that there were very few bots in the room and they all stood out to me.

The first was Starscream. His offline chassis had been brought back to Cybertron to be studied by the Autobots and, the Autobots had almost made it to the research labs when something happened. While they were flying around the Well, a flash of energy came and hit the ship and, for a moment, the power had gone out. But, after the power was restored, they turned to the previously offline seeker and, to their surprise, he was online. My goal one solar cycle was to ask the seeker about what had happened in the Well and why he had been allowed to come back.

Then, I saw Shockwave and Lugnut. It was no secret to me that those two were rivals...of sorts. They both reveled in Megatron's praise but Shockwave, according to reports, didn't show it as much as the overpraising Lugnut was. I had heard that it was really hard for the large bomber flier to stop overpraising 'Lord' Megatron. Even heard through a couple of sources that it had taken Megatron ordering him to treat him like a normal bot that Lugnut had finally stopped. Wasn't sure how true that one was.

Then, my optics landed on Blitzwing and, like every time I saw the triple changer, I couldn't help but stare. The similarities between the two of us, given that I was a femme and he was a mech, were astonishing. I was sure that if I was a mech, I would look like a clone of the insane triple changer...without the insanity.

Standing near the back of the room, I located the bounty hunter Lockdown. After Megatron's escape right before the peace treaty was signed, the bounty hunter had decided to become a loyal and full fledged Decepticon and only take jobs from them. With the peace we were in now, the bounty hunter would chase after escaped criminals and bring them in to whichever side they escaped from for a mod payment...or a really high credit payment.

Finally, my optics landed on, and stayed on, the leader of the Decepticons; Megatron. He seemed to exude power and I felt very nervous just being in his presence. He seemed to exude an air of authority that even my mind seemed to want to pledge allegiance to for a brief nano-click. But, that was not the reason that I was here.

"Ah, Pandimala, I have heard of both yourself and your friend Vox there from Ultra Magnus during our many talks during the peace negotiations and those afterwords." Megatron started, drawing my attention up to him. "Tell me, what urgent message does Ultra Magnus send me from Iacon?"

I flinched when he guessed that Ultra Magnus had sent the message. No, he was the reason behind the message. I was both the sender of the message and the deliverer. "Ultra Magnus does not send this message Megatron, I do."

All the Decepticons around the leader had looks of shock appear on their faceplates and, if I had been expecting such a reaction from the leader of the Decepticons, then I would have been disappointed when he simply raised an optic ridge. "If Ultra Magnus did not send this message, what makes it so urgent?"

Great. The nervous feeling I had been feeling on the transit was coming back. How would Megatron react to learn that Ultra Magnus was offline due to a fatal poison being administered?

"_Just get it over with Pandimala. Megatron is waiting and I'm not sure how much longer he will wait patiently.-Vox."_ I received that private message and knew that I needed to, like Vox said, get this over with.

So, I folded my servos together behind my back and stood at attention before saying, "Ultra Magnus was again attacked by the assassins, but his time they administered a deadly poison into his systems that had no cure. He has been one with the Allspark for half a cycle now."

The room was silent. Many of the Decepticons showed a little surprise at the information that I had just presented. But, Megatron did not show that same reaction. Instead, he had his helm tilted halfway down and I could see that he was thinking. Also, for a brief nano-click, a foreign look seemed to cross the leader's faceplates, though I could not be sure as to what that was.

Finally after what seemed like cycles of silence, though in reality was only a few nano-clicks, Megatron spoke. "This is truly a sad day. Ultra Magnus was a great leader to the Autobots to the end." He then stared directly at me before saying, "Pandimala, who was chosen to be Ultra Magnus' successor?" I could see worry in his optics and I guess even he had heard about how much Sentinel had bungled up during his brief time as 'temporary' Magnus.

Thankfully, I could hopefully give him some good news. "Yes. Before he offlined, Ultra Magnus stated that it would be Optimus Prime who would succeed him and hopefully take up the mantel of Magnus." The relief that briefly crossed Megatron's faceplate told me that he was glad that Optimus was taking over. "Rodimus Prime has already left for Earth to retire Optimus and his team and transport them to Cybertron."

Megatron nodded at that and stood before saying, "That is good." He then started to walk down as he said, "The sooner the Prime comes back here and takes up the mantle, the sooner any unrest can settle."

I nodded and I was about to ask the leader why he was walking over here when, to my surprise, the screens in the room lit up and, to my utter shock, Sentinel's faceplate appeared on them all. Since I doubted that the Prime was calling on the Decepticons, that only meant one thing. The Prime was about to make an announcement over the planet-wide frequency. And, judging from the look on his faceplate, whatever he was about to say, I was going to have a helm ache.

"To all who are hearing this message; Ultra Magnus is offline. Since I am his successor, that makes me Magnus. But, there are some who are spreading lies about who Ultra Magnus has left as his successors. These are the very same bots who ordered our great leader's assassination in the first place. If you hear anything that says that I am not the new Magnus, report them to my office immediately and you will be rewarded. We must not let the assassins win in tearing down the Autobots. This message has been approved by Sentinel Magnus."

I felt my optic twitch at that. What was that idiot doing?

"I thought you just told me that Optimus Prime was the successor to Ultra Magnus, not Sentinel Prime?" Megatron demanded.

Flinching at the now very fragile situation that idiot Sentinel had placed me, I said, "Optimus Prime _is_ the new Magnus. I have no idea what that idiotic frag helm thinks he is doing. I must call Alpha Trion and figure out why Sentinel is doing this."

Then, I turned on my communicator and was about to contact Alpha Trion when I hesitated. Along with the normal pre-static that came before I connected to another bot's communicator, I heard another sound. It was so faint that, at first, I thought I was imagining things. But, as I listened, I could hear a faint hum.

I heard Megatron walk closer to me and ask, "What are you waiting for femme?" The impatience in the leader's vocals was growing and I knew that I should place that call in, but I had to find out what that other sound was. Since activating comm links temporarily increased audio sensor sensitivity, I knew that the sound had to be coming from this room. But, it was also a soft sound almost like the sound was muffled. Actually, if I took the muffling into account, the small hum almost sounded like...

My optics widened as I realized just what was about to happen and I also realized that there was only one target in the room that would be important...given the message that Sentinel had just sent out. Quickly locating the leader, who was moving toward me, I activated my thrusters before launching at him. "Look out!" Then, before Megatron could react, I slammed into him and knocked him to the ground. As I fell toward the ground, I heard something whiz past my audio and latch onto the command chair that Megatron was standing in front of.

A growl coming from the mech below me had me turning to face him and my optics widened as I saw him priming up his cannon and he was glaring at me. Uh-oh. He didn't see the projectile that was just fired at him. "What is the meaning of this femme?" Megatron growled at me. My fear of the leader skyrocketed at that moment and I wondered how painful he might make my death. Thankfully for me, before the Decepticon leader could move his cannon and fire it at me, the projectile that hit the command chair exploded and sent shards of the chair flying in all directions. I hissed as many pieces hit my back and wings.

Thankfully, as I got up and took in the situation, I noticed that Vox was already subduing the would-be assassin. I was so glad that he had agreed to come with. I wouldn't have been able to save the Decepticon leader and take down the assassin if I was alone.

Once the leader of the Decepticons was up, I felt myself freeze. Was he still angry about me shoving him down? I stayed in my tense frozen state until the leader walked past me, which prompted me to follow him, before Vox, Megatron, and I surrounded the now subdued assassin. The bot was a black car mech with neon purple highlights and piercing red optics. Yes, to my surprise, the assassin was a Decepticon. What was he doing trying to take down his own leader?

"Who hired you?" I growled at the Decepticon.

A hum from a cannon next to me caused me to glance out of the corner of my optic and I saw that Megatron was pointing his arm cannon at the assassin. "You had best answer her, before I take over." Megatron growled at his would-be assassin. It almost caused me to start cowering instead. Megatron was pretty scary...oh who am I kidding, he _is_ very scary.

The assassin, instead of cowering and telling me everything, scoffed and said, "You three don't scare me. A new era is rising in which you all will be insignificant specks compared to the great one who has shown us the light." Then, before any of us could stop him, I heard him detach something from the inside of his mouth and swallow it and, soon, the mech convulsed while falling back. His chassis was gray before he hit the ground.

"Frag it!" Megatron growled, causing me to jump. Also, it made me realize just how close I was to the leader. "The coward took a Virol tablet."

Virol tablets were relatively new to Cybertron but I had encountered them during my youngling years away from Cybertron. The tablets sent a virus through your systems, which caused the convulsing, and raced up the pace of your spark until it imploded. I had many a medic who had dealt with the substance tell me that it was a very painful, but quick offlining. I would not want that in my systems.

Vox then stepped forward and said, "He might of, but he also gave us a little information before he left." Megatron and I both glanced at Vox as he stepped forward. "That mech just said that he was following the commands of 'the great one'. Now we just have to figure out who that is and how many more of these lunatics are under their control."

Silence filled the air as Vox's words hit me. Someone had to be pulling the strings with these crazies and they must not have known that Vox and I were going to be there, because then the assassin probably would have succeeded. But, as I thought more about it, I realized that there was much more to it. The 'great one' had to have knowledge about Ultra Magnus because I had a feeling that whoever sent this assassin to kill Megatron had been the same being to send the ones after Ultra Magnus. But, I couldn't see who could possibly gain from both leaders being offline? One, yes, that was painfully obvious. They could start a war with the side they were aiming for. But both?

A beep from the emergency frequency system had all of us in the room lifting our helms and staring at the monitor as it blinked to life. It took a click for an image to show but, once it did, I held back a groan. For, on the screens was,

"This is an emergency message to all you bots who hold our peace in high standards." Sentinel started, causing the urge I had to offline him grow. "After my last message, I sent one of my ambassadors and a good Decepticon friend of mine to Megatron to reaffirm this glorious peace. But, how does the ruthless leader of the Decepticons repay my servo of friendship? He offlines the bot!" Then, a quick flash of Vox, Megatron, and myself standing around the offline shell of the assassin flashed on the screen. "And the betrayals keep hitting closer and closer. For, helping the leader of the Decepticons are Vox, a once good friend of Ultra Magnus and, would you look, the _former_ Neutral Autobot Ambassador triple changer femme Pandimala! They have disgraced Ultra Magnus' last wish of me becoming Magnus and now they conspire with Megatron against me!"

"When I get my servos around that Prime's throat," I growled, feeling the fury inside of me raise up.

"As Magnus, I order all Autobots to offline these three and any who stand with them." Sentinel continued as different pictures of bots came on the screen along with Vox's, Megatron's, and my own. When I saw Alpha Trion's and Botanica's, I hoped that they were okay. "To any Decepticon who wishes to keep the peace between our two factions, I suggest that you take out your fallen leader and his lackeys." Sentinel then cut the feed for the broadcast.

"FALLEN LEADER?" Megatron snarled in fury.

At the same time, I snarled, "LACKEY?"

I flinched as Vox helmed slapped me before he said, "That's not the important thing right now. I don't know how many Decepticons liked this peace for sure, but I would guess that over half of them did and most Autobots liked it too. They would do anything to keep this peace. Right?"

Megatron and I both nodded at that. We were both facing Vox, who was in the middle of us. "What about it Vox?" I asked him.

He turned to me before saying, "What it is about is they are not going to waste any time in coming to keep the peace and taking us out." He answered me before addressing the both of us again. "We need to leave here now and find somewhere safe to regroup. Pandimala and I know two bots who know the truth, Alpha Trion and Botanica. And, since none of them have tried to take us out yet, I can assume that the Decepticons here aren't as stupid as Sentinel thinks they are." I did a quick helm count and, unfortunately, that only gave us two Autobots, two neutrals, and eight Decepticons total including Alpha Trion, Botanica, Vox, and myself.

"We need to regroup somewhere Sentinel wouldn't look for us. Our numbers don't stand a chance against the hordes of bots who will come after us here in a few clicks." I stated, realizing that we had to move quickly. "But, where would that be?" I threw the question out to anyone to answer.

The room was silent for a click as we all hopefully tried to think of a place where Sentinel wouldn't go. Unfortunately, I had a feeling that Sentinel would go almost anywhere to track us down and make sure that the truth of this all offlined with us.

"The Sea of Rust." Lockdown suddenly stated, causing me to jump. "Most sane bots won't go near the place because of the tales of the creatures inside. I've even heard that there are," He then paused for dramatic effect, stupid dramatics, before saying, "techno-organics in there. I've been there a few times and know that there is an extensive network of tunnels that would work really well for our little rebellion here." Of course, that bit about worrying about techno-organics was foolish. I had many interactions with both organic and techno-organic organisms and I was still in one piece.

I nodded at that as Megatron said, "Then we had best hurry." A blast then rocketed Darkmount before the leader said, "Because I fear that the enemy is upon us."

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**Pandimala: That...was...tense. Megatron scares me.**

**Vox: I'm more worried about what that slag-helm Sentinel is doing. He is ruining everything!**

**Pandimala: Well, let's just hope that we can straighten this out before it gets worse.**

**Megatron: I highly doubt that will happen.**

**Pandimala: *eeps* When did you get here?**

**Authoress: I just let him in now.**

**Pandimala: *sweat drops and nervously glances at Megatron* **

**Vox: *sarcastically* This should be fun.**

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**AN: Well, that was intense and fun! It looks like Pandimala is a little scared of Megatron! I wonder how that is going to play out? Well, I really don't have a lot to say so I hope you all review, even to say hi, to tell me what you think so far. Now, I have to go and kill Sentinel. Any who want to join me are welcome to come. TTYL! *walks off with Requiem Blaster in hand***


	2. Circumstances of the Past

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs. Vox belongs to a friend.**

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**Megatron: Wow, you are finally updating us. I'm surprised.**

**Authoress: Well, I got a request in to get you all updated and so here you are.**

**Megatron: At least someone cares about us. Unlike a certain Authoress I know.**

**Authoress: *puts down head and walks away***

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Ch. 2: Circumstances of the Past

As Darkmount shook under another blast, I continued to stand as Megatron contacted some Decepticons that he knew and Vox worked on contacted a few of his close Autobot friends to meet at the Sea of Rust. Everything was moving too fast for me and I couldn't think.

"Femme!"

I jumped out of said shock when I heard a voice behind me. I turned to see Starscream standing there. "What?" I asked him back.

"We need to move." I jumped when I heard Megatron's voice behind me and I turned quickly to see him standing in front of me. "The Decepticons in the tower understood that Sentinel's message was false and are holding back the forces trying to get in so we can escape! Now, we can't let them do that in vain!"

That snapped me out of my shock, though I still felt fear running through my systems at Megatron being able to get so close and I didn't even realize that he had. "I've studied Cybertron and, if we can make it to the train depot, there is a secret tunnel that leads to the Sea of Rust. We just have to get there."

Megatron crossed his arms and seemed to think for a moment before he said, "I think I know how to get to the train depot in one piece, but we are going to have to move quickly."

I nodded and motioned to Vox to come over to me. He was the only bot here who I truly knew and I did not want to be away from him for too long. Also, I wanted to know how his calls went. "Who were you able to contact?" I asked him.

"We need to move now!" Megatron ordered as he motioned toward the window. "Cybertronians with flight alt modes, grab someone without one and hang on." He then grabbed Lockdown before jumping down.

Grabbing Vox, I did the same as Vox answered. "I got to Alpha Trion and Botanica. Sentinel had them attacked, calling them traitors, but they are fine. According to Botanica, Alpha Trion only has minor injuries that should be easy to fix. They are going to contact Rodimus to tell him about the situation." Well, it was good that Rodimus was contacted about the situation. That would give us a few more allies.

We both let out grunts as I landed on the ground a little faster than I would have wanted and we both followed after Megatron toward the train station. "Anyone else?" I asked him, prodding him to continue as we ran down the streets of Kaon.

To my relief, he nodded. "Yeah. It took a little convincing, but Wheeljack, Preceptor, and Blurr are going to meet us there as well."

I nodded at that. Though, having Blurr coming as well was a surprise. Ever since he had been found in that cube form and returned to his original state, he had been avoiding Decepticons at all costs, and now he was going to be staying with a lot of them.

"We are here." I jumped when I realized that Megatron was right. We had arrived at the station and now it was my turn to get us to the Sea of Rust. So, I led them all to the platform before jumping down onto the tracks.

However, it seemed like the others had reservations. "Pandimala, what are you doing? The train is going to be coming in a few clicks!" Vox yelled at me.

Shaking my head, I searched the wall until I found a stone that was just slightly moved forward ahead of the rest before I said, "There are a reason that these are secret." I told him before I pressed the brick in.

A loud hiss came from the wall as the brick was put into place and, for a few nano-clicks, nothing happened. But, eventually, the wall to my right sunk in slightly before sliding to the right. While that was happening, the others jumped down to join me. "Well, I'm impressed femme." Again, I jumped when I realized that Megatron was right behind me. How did a mech that big sneak behind me?

I nodded and, as I led them all through the tunnel, I said, "There is at least one entrance in each city and, in some, there are as many as four or five. According to the records that I looked at, they all lead to a central hub, a sub-city if you would, that is located right under the Sea of Rust." When everyone got through, the entry slammed shut and a few of the bots jumped. "Also, the doors are on a timer. After three clicks, they shut themselves and you have to wait another five to activate the opening again." I informed them as we continued to walk down the halls.

The halls themselves had a light coating of dust on them, probably since very few, if any, bots had been down here in ages, and the lights on the walls glowed with a low yellow light. It was a good thing that I remembered this tunnel or we might have had to fight our way to the Sea of Rust from the surface. There were many reasons that I did not get involved with the fighting of the Autobot-Decepticon war and the fighting was one of them. While I had a disposition toward talking with my fists, I did not like offlining a fellow Cybertronian. It felt wrong. I only liked that kind of fighting when all of my other options were extinguished.

"Femme," Megatron stated as he came to walk next to me. Great, this was the only being that I truly feared and he decided to walk up next to me. "how did you know of these tunnels?"

Pushing down my fear of the leader, I shrugged my shoulders and said, "I was an ambassador for the Autobots, true, but I did like hearing you talk in the beginning of the war. But, since I had a position with the Autobots, I had to sneak to get to your speeches. At first, I didn't know about these tunnels and traveled on the surface. I was almost caught once, however, and so I studied in the library until I came across an old file about the beginning of the golden age. Nova Prime had these built, leading toward the hub under the Sea of Rust, so he could practice the scientific advances that had a good possibility of being rejected by the public. However, when the Prime offlined, these tunnels were forgotten and the only source of information about them was either in the remaining online bots from the era or in that file. I was lucky to find the file and that was how I came to listen to many of your speeches."

And I stopped myself before I could continue to blabber. Not choosing a side in the war had been very difficult for me. While I knew that the Decepticons preached the truth about the caste system and the unfair treatment of the lower caste, I also knew that war would tear Cybertron apart. Also, during the last of Megatron's speeches that I attended, I had begun to fear him. His talk had gone from equality of the castes to complete and total rule by himself.

"_You_ came to my speeches?" Megatron asked me in surprise.

But, I did not answer as we finally came to the end of the tunnel and arrived at the hub. It was like a miniature city that incorporated parts of Kaon and Iacon together. "Well, here we are." I stated, purposely avoiding Megatron's question. "There are sleeping quarters to the right and practice ranges to the left. I need to go to Galaxon Hall real quick."

"What's Galaxon Hall?"

"What do you need to do?"

The questions by Shockwave and Vox, respectfully, caused me to sigh and answer them in order. "Galaxon Hall is this underground city's version of Fortress Maximus...or Darkmount. I'm going there because I need to get in contact with some of the planets that I visited in the past. We are going to need allies in this fight and I know that there are at least a few of them who would believe me over Sentinel, if he has already contacted them. I think my best bet is to contact Jungle Planet first. It is the closest of my contacts to Cybertron and they will be able to send us help much faster than my other contacts would."

"Pandimala," Vox started, "you should have them send some reinforcements to Rodimus and his team." He then motioned to the air before continuing. "I have a feeling that Sentinel is going to want to take Optimus out as soon as he can so there can be no one to make claim on the chair of Magnus."

Of course, he was right. I had already forgotten about Optimus and Rodimus and I knew that Sentinel was going to want to get his competition out of the way because, even if Optimus offlined, Rodimus stood a better chance of becoming Magnus than Sentinel did. "Good idea Vox. I'll tell Scourge to send some toward Earth." I then started to walk toward Galaxon Hall.

But, of course, there was always something else. "I believe I will go with you."

Oh frag. Just when I thought I was going to be alone and, most importantly, _away_ from Megatron, he would decide to speak up. "I need to contact the Decepticon forces off of Cybertron and explain to them what is happening. Plus, I have a few old war alliances that I can call up now to give us a servo. The more help we have the faster this nonsense can end."

Why? Why did he have to make, not just one good point, but _two_ good points? It really wasn't fair. No one else had an excuse to come with us so now I was going to be stuck with Megatron. Alone. My nerves were already playing havoc on my systems. I couldn't wait what they would do once we got to Galaxon Hall. "That, makes sense. Come on. We have to get these calls through before Sentinel starts to scan the comm lines for chatter."

He nodded and followed me toward the Hall. While on the outside, I hoped that I looked calm, I was a wreck on the inside. This was like something out of my nightmares come to life and, the worse part; I had to deal with it in reality. I could only hope that these calls were quick.

**Rodimus' 3rd P.O.V.**

Rodimus Prime was already having a helm ache, and it was only going to get worse. He had been on Earth for a cycle and Optimus was being most persistent about _not_ coming with him back to Cybertron. "The people of Earth need us here to help repair and fight off the rogue Decepticons still attacking, Rodimus. I can't leave now. Plus, I don't want to be Magnus!" Optimus argued with him.

And, Optimus did bring up a good point. While the war was over, and most Decepticons and Autobots lived in peace with each other, there were still a few who did not want the fighting to stop. So, up before Ultra Magnus had become one with the Allspark, Optimus and his team, plus a few other Autobots and Decepticons who had become friends with Optimus' team, had defended Earth from hostile attack.

But, Earth was not a priority at the click. "Optimus," Rodimus started. "Cybertron needs you back. With Ultra Magnus having announced you as his successor, we need you to keep Cybertron stable. Sentinel wasn't thrilled when you were named over him and I have no doubt that he is going to try something if we don't get back soon."

"Why wasn't there any more notice than this?" A Decepticon named Glasno Major asked. He had been an Autobot at the very beginning of the war but had changed sides, though no bot ever knew why and Rodimus was not going to ask the bot.

Rodimus sighed before saying, "Look, there wasn't any extra time because Ultra Magnus' health went downhill really fast and we were all trying to keep him alive."

"Obviously that didn't work." Another Decepticon called Nightshade asked. She was a black seeker and she seemed to be feeling critical at the moment.

But, Rodimus was not going to get into an argument with her. "Obviously. That's why my team and I are here now. We need to get Optimus back as soon as possible before things can get worse than they already are."

"_Team Athenia come in! This is Alpha Trion calling!"_

Every bot jumped when Alpha Trion's voice came through the communicator. It was unexpected and Rodimus was worried as to why the old bot was calling. They were on Cybertron and they knew that he was here to get Optimus, so why call him?

Running inside to the communicator, Rodimus answered. "This is Rodimus. What is going on Alpha Trion?"

The sounds of blaster fire could be heard in the background and, for a nano-click, Rodimus was afraid that Megatron had not taken the news of Ultra Magnus' offlining very well. But, that fear was squashed by what Botanica responded with. "_It's Sentinel! He's attempting to take over as Magnus! Alpha Trion and I are almost out of Iacon but I fear we are on a planet which has sided much with Sentinel."_

Optimus then stepped forward. "We'll be there as soon as,"

"_NO!_" Alpha Trion interrupted as another round of blaster fire echoed in the background. "_We need you all to stay on Earth. I have no doubt that Sentinel will aim to take on any bots who has a claim at taking the Magnus seat. Optimus is now a target due to Ultra Magnus naming him his successor and Rodimus, you are at risk as well due to your popularity on Cybertron. If you came back here, Sentinel will not hesitate to eliminate you. What we need you all to do is stay there. Botanica is trying to contact Vox and Pandimala to see what their condition is."_ The sight of an actual blaster flashed past the screen before Alpha Trion continued. "_I must let you go now. You all need to be careful. I have no doubt that, as soon as Sentinel settles things here on Cybertron slightly, he will send out others to take you and any who stand with you offline."_

This was all happening so fast for Rodimus. He had left a peaceful Cybertron only to now learn that it had fallen back to chaos. It was a good thing that Optimus had been so against coming with. Otherwise, they would be very close to Cybertron at this point. But, he needed to talk to Alpha Trion. "_Alpha Trion, what about,"_

"_There is no time for talk now Rodimus!"_ Alpha Trion interrupted.

"_Alpha Trion look out!"_ They heard Botanica yell out across the line before the line went dark.

Silence enveloped everybot on the ship and, for a long time, no bot spoke. Rodimus wasn't sure what to say. Sentinel was vying for power on Cybertron and he and Optimus were now targets. They had just finished fighting a war that had lasted millennium and now Sentinel was starting what could very well be another war. It hadn't even been a stellar cycle since the last one ended.

"Um, bots?" Everyone turned to Dunce, a black and red Decepticon car mech, and Cyber Stein, an Autobot who had been experimented on by a rogue Decepticon medic femme and he was now a dull gray stitch-work of many chassis welded into one. Even his faceplate was not all his. But, it seemed like the Autobot and Decepticon were good friends. Dunce, being the one who spoke, continued. "Doesn't Sentinel know where the Autobot base on Earth is?"

At that comment, realization seemed to dawn on everybot. Sentinel knew where they were, and that meant that he had already sent bots to that location to take them out. "You're right." Rodimus agreed. "We need to find somewhere to lay low until we can make a plan." He then turned to the Decepticons in the room. Besides the already mentioned Glano Major, Nightshade, and Dunce, the other Decepticons in the room were, ironically, the members of Team Chaar, who he had fought at a space bridge and had been attacked with cosmic rust by. Thankfully, they had all accepted the peace between the factions and now they stayed on Earth to help out in fighting other Decepticons that were too much of a challenge for the Autobots on the planet.

Oil Slick stepped forward and said, "I believe that we have the answer for our predicament. During the last few solar cycles of fighting between the Autobots and Decepticons, Megatron set up underground bunkers all over this planet once he had escaped from Trypticon prison. They were to be used once he reorganized the Decepticon forces. He had been planning on having his main base of operations be here on Earth, since you Autobots had a strange fear of organics...which I still don't get. But, Ultra Magnus offered a peaceful end to the war before Megatron could get that plan in motion."

Sundial, a gold and white Autobot car femme, stepped forward, the brown and orange Autobot car mech known as Remcy following her, before she said, "Then what are we waiting for? Sentinel is going to launch an attack here soon and I'd rather get some defenses up before his bots get here."

They all nodded and quickly went to get all the important technology from the Autobot base in Detroit. That took about an hour before they all got back onto his ship and flew to the set of coordinates that would provide them the best tactical advantage. Now, they just had to prepare and Rodimus hoped that they were ready for whatever Sentinel sent there way.

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**Rodimus: You just had to have Sentinel go crazy, didn't you?**

**Authoress: Hey! He was lost long before I got my hands on him.**

**Optimus: But you aren't helping anything at all.**

**Authoress:...What is this? 'Make the Authoress feel miserable day'?**

**Strika: Exactly!**

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**AN: And that's all folks! I'm sorry about not updating a lot lately but work and school and family have really got me chasing myself in circles. Hopefully, I can update more here soon. But, I can't make promises. If you want a specific story updated, shoot me a pm and I'll try to work on it. But, enough about me, this chapter was fun! I must thank BlueStar19 for giving me the kick in the aft I needed to get this story updated! Seems like Pandimala shows us a glimpse of what she was doing at the beginning of the war. But, what makes Pandimala so afraid of Megatron? I guess we will find out eventually. I hope you all liked this chapter. If you want, you can leave a review, they feed my inspiration, and you can give me any ideas you want about what you would like to see in upcoming chapters. Until then though, TTYL! *goes to sulk***


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